Voices Carry
by Virginia Hensley
Summary: This is an AU R&I fic where Maura ends up dating the girl next door, Jane's neighbor Detective Riley Cooper. Jealousy and Rizzles ensue. This IS NOT a Maura/Riley story. This is a slow burning Rizzles story.
1. Voices Carry

I didn't create 'em, and I don't own 'em.

I love this community so much. I respect all the writers here more than I could say. However, anyone who attempts to negatively Review will be immediately shut down. I will not read nasty "Reviews" or allow them to be posted here. Sorry. I have enough negative feedback in my life at the moment.

About Maura/Riley: If you're interested in this plot device, please read ahead and I hope you will be surprised and interested in how I have used it. Riley's part is minimal and annoying. I won't make you like her and I won't suggest she's a good person. She's a plot device. If you don't like it, here's an idea, don't read it.

* * *

**Voices Carry**

* * *

Jane was sitting on her couch drinking a beer and watching a game. She glanced at her phone. Maura still hadn't returned her text. Her team was winning, and she cheered halfheartedly to herself. At the commercials she muted the TV to grab another beer and the second half of her sandwich.

As she was closing the refrigerator, she heard female giggling. Something about it made her alert, her stomach even jolted. For a second she thought it was Maura, but she dismissed it because Maura wouldn't be laughing in her apartment building. She flipped the sound on when the commercials ended and didn't hear anything else out of the ordinary.

Jane awoke on her couch perhaps an hour later. She didn't know what had woken her, and she staggered towards her apartment door still partially in a dream state. Her TV had turned itself off, so she stood in silence in the dim light of her living room, listening through her door.

She definitely heard Maura talking. It sounded strange to her, as if Maura were using a tone that interested and yet aggravated her. She opened the door tentatively, still only dimly aware that she had indeed woken up to the sound of Maura chirping outside her apartment.

Maura started. For the briefest instant her face seemed to drain of its color, then her cheeks turned cherry red with an almost painful blush. Jane saw her hand drop, as if guiltily, from wherever it had been.

Jane's neighbor, Detective Riley Cooper, was standing in Maura's personal space. She had her hand on Maura's hip but it also dropped when Jane opened the door. They were leaning in the doorway of Riley's apartment across the hall. Jane got the very annoying impression she was interrupting something intimate.

"Jane. Hi," Maura said warmly, affectively hiding the tremor in her tone from Riley but not Jane.

"Hey, Maura," Jane returned. "I uh ... didn't mean to interrupt, I guess I didn't really expect you to be out here. I thought I was imagining your voice." It sounded absurd, and Jane felt strange, as if she might still be dreaming.

"It's fine, I was just saying goodnight to Detective Cooper. We were trying to crack a difficult case." She said confidently, and it almost didn't sound forced.

Jane nodded. "Right. Well, good luck and goodnight, I guess." She nodded at Riley, quickly glanced at Maura, and closed the door. For some reason she didn't move away from the door, and she felt distinctly creepy for it. She tried but couldn't control her desire to listen to their conversation.

"Shhh. Hey, hey," Maura whispered. There was a pause before Maura giggled. "Mmm. Listen, okay?"

"I am listening. If you would come back inside we wouldn't have to whisper." The detective replied playfully.

"Not a chance," Maura cut in cheekily. "I will see you at work. Oh, and Detective Cooper … I expect your requests to be filed correctly in the future."

"I'm not totally certain you can stipulate a font, Maura, but I will try harder to get on your good side."

Jane thought she heard a sort of whimper before Maura replied in a muffled voice, "That's enough, Detective. I enjoyed working together. Goodnight."

"I enjoy working with you, too, Maura. You're one hell of an … examiner."

Maura giggled encouragingly. "Riley, stop."

"Goodnight, Doctor. I'll see you soon," the detective finally conceded.

Jane leaned her forehead on the door, she wasn't quite sure what she had just heard or why she was so annoyed by it. She glanced at the clock. It was 1:37 AM. She felt like she had entered a dream world, and perhaps by going to sleep she could leave it. She grabbed her phone and headed to bed. She was nearly asleep when it chimed. It was a text from Maura.

MAURA: I'm sorry I couldn't reply earlier and that I woke you. Your 'couch nap' hair was adorable.

Jane smiled despite herself.

JANE: Why were you here?

MAURA: I told you. We were working on a case. You're not the only Detective to whom I'm obliged to offer my professional advice and counsel, Jane.

Jane rolled her eyes hard enough to knock them out of joint.

MAURA: We'll talk tomorrow, okay? Get some sleep, Jane.

* * *

Jane loved a lot of things about her job, but the best thing was cracking a case. Not only did she get the satisfaction and closure, but she and Maura always celebrated with dinner and drinks at the Dirty Robber.

Sometimes Maura even excitedly hugged and congratulated her, and bringing that to mind, Jane couldn't really think of any thing about her job she liked more than being congratulated by Maura's breasts pressed against her and Maura's praise filling her ears.

As Jane dashed out of the elevator with her folder of case-cracking evidence clasped in hand, good news already rehearsed and ready on her tongue, she bounded through the Morgue door anticipating her best friend to be doing an autopsy.

But she deflated instantly when she didn't see Maura. Her face furrowed as she hurried across the room to Maura's office door. She snatched it open expectantly and called, "Maur?" before she had opened the door wide enough to see Detective Cooper pulling her lips away from Maura's with a smack.

Maura's lips were pink and swollen, and she licked them self consciously when she looked up at Jane. Although Jane had called her name, she knew a reply was no longer desired.

Jane audibly gasped. Her eyes fell on Maura's lips, on Riley's hand which was still around Maura's waist. She dimly realized she couldn't look into Maura's eyes, and she stared at the floor dumbly as the look of painful confusion on her cheeks started to melt into a ferocious blush.

Maura caught her breath and considered speaking but didn't really know what to say. She couldn't lie, and she knew if she told the truth it would sound like she was apologizing to a lover, not simply explaining to a friend.

Maura didn't want Jane to know she was dating Riley, and didn't want Riley to know she had a complicated relationship with Jane which had somehow seethed sexual tension from the start. It seemed like two cats might be out of the bag, and Maura felt helplessly bare toward the impending criticism of both women in her life.

Riley only smirked. For her part she wasn't exactly embarrassed by being caught with Maura. She was waiting for Maura to explain, it was her office after all, but Maura and Jane only breathed raggedly and waited. Feeling increasingly confused by their odd behavior, Riley finally broke the silence.

"Sorry, Detective Rizzoli. We were just ... celebrating, I guess. We um, we cracked that case today. Yay." She mocked celebration with raised hands.

"Anyway," she turned back to Maura and addressed her in a lowered tone, "Are you going to keep your promise to cook for me tonight, Doctor?"

She leaned her face forward, as if to kiss Maura again, and Maura instantly moved out of her arms.

"Of course, Detective Cooper. A promise is a promise. I'll be there at 7."

Riley grinned at her. As she walked past Jane she sighed and commented to Jane, "There's nothing like breaking a case, huh?"

Jane still held a folder under her arm, it felt like a burning emblem of shame on her breast.

"Yep," Jane replied flatly after Riley had left the office.

Maura hadn't said a word, she was just standing beside her desk looking at Jane. She noticed the folder Jane was holding. She knew exactly what it was. She realized why Jane had rushed into her office.

"You found the get-away car, huh?" Maura asked quietly.

Jane felt a wave of childish defensiveness rise in her gullet. "Yep."

"I knew you would," Maura replied warmly. She was nervously flexing her ankles.

Finally Jane pulled her eyes up to meet Maura's. "I'll pour out some champagne for you tonight at the Dirty Robber. Don't worry, Frost, Korsak and Frankie will be with me. Have fun on your ..." she meant to say 'date' but she was surprised to realize she couldn't. She couldn't pronounce the word. "Dinner," she finally concluded. She turned, but Maura quickly blurted her name.

"Jane," Maura started without thinking. She had been trying to decide how to explain for days. She and Riley had been only been dating a couple of weeks. At first it didn't seem that important a thing to inform Jane of, she didn't always update Jane on her budding Romantic life. Truthfully she was overwhelmed by how difficult and awkward she knew it would be.

Jane stopped and waited.

"I ..." Maura started. "I ..."

Jane waited. Maura exhaled.

"I ... am ... well ..."

"Sleeping with Riley?" Jane finished in a level tone.

Maura's eyes shot up to hers. "We're dating," she corrected, and she winced at how apologetic she sounded. Somehow she thought adding that fact might make it better that she was sleeping with Riley. But the information made Jane grimace nonetheless.

She let the grimace melt off her face before she nodded and replied, "Congratulations," in a forced tone.

Maura sighed. She realized nothing she could say would make Jane okay with her dating Riley. "I know you don't like her, but you usually don't have a great opinion about the people I date, and anyway, I'm not marrying her. We're just ... dating," Maura concluded dismissively.

Jane nodded numbly. She felt nauseous.

Maura wanted to stop Jane from leaving, but she knew neither of them had anything more to say. She watched her turn to go. Suddenly she thought of something, "Oh, Jane, wait."

Jane turned, and was surprised Maura had walked up behind her.

"What?"

"Congratulations to you, too," Maura said affectionately as she wrapped her arms around Jane and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so proud of what a wonderful detective you are."

Jane didn't try to hide her rigidity. She exhaled deeply though, and leaned her shoulders against Maura.

"Thank you," she replied against Maura's hair. "But I couldn't have done it without you."

Maura closed her eyes sadly and focused on hugging Jane as long as Jane would allow it.

It wasn't long. Jane shrugged her off and finally turned to go. "Have fun with Riley, Maura."

Maura felt like saying, "I would rather be with you," but instead she forced a smile and nodded at Jane's retreating back.


	2. Jessie's Girl

Maura was organizing her closet. All Maura's life her routine for dealing with anxiety had been to organize her closet. As a child and teenager, she truly had meticulously reorganized the closet for hours as a stress reliever.

As an adult, Maura turned this into an all-day event where she drank copious wine, tried on every article of clothing she owned in front of the mirror, decided if she was still attractive or not, and left her now mountainous piles of clothes tossed on the closet floor for her to reorganize whenever her hangover wore off.

Maura had decided to call in to work so that she could organize her closet. She didn't have any pressing cases, and she honestly just wanted a day. Nothing in her life was going particularly haywire, she just felt generally dogged out by the insidious long term stress of her somehow perpetually tenuous relationship with Jane and with her family, compounded with her newly acquired girlfriend whose increasing desire for intimacy and commitment was starting to wear at her.

She was two hours and three glasses of wine into her routine when her phone alerted her that Jane was calling. Maura wanted to answer, but she realized she wasn't in a position to have a chat with Jane. She was standing in a lace teddy and rain boots, attempting to hold her wine glass while pinning a hat on. It just wasn't the time to answer her phone.

Maura never heard her phone alert her that Jane had left a message, so she immediately forgot about Jane's call. She was unzipping the storage bag of her snowsuit when she heard her bedroom door open.

"Maura? Are you in here? Are you okay?" Jane's voice sounded panicked.

"Um," Maura replied meekly, "I'm … in the closet."

Jane took her reticence for sadness and hurried to the closed closet doors. She leaned her head down to speak softly through the thin doors.

"Maura, what's going on in there? Riley was looking for you at work, she said you weren't answering your phone. I couldn't get you either. No one knew where you were. I got scared. Why did you call in to work? Are you sick? I was worried maybe Patty or Hope ..." she abruptly switched topics, "I was just worried."

All Jane could hear was a loud swishing of some kind. It sounded like a prom dress.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Jane, but I'm fine. I'm just … you know …" she muttered something more but Jane didn't understand her.

"You're what? You're doing what?" She asked.

"Organizing the … you know, organizing the closet," Maura finally admitted.

Jane gasped and pulled the doors apart. "Oh, Maura." She said empathetically as she observed her best friend standing in a leather jacket and pumps. She was holding her snow pants in one hand and her wine in the other.

"You 'organize the closet' when you're upset, Maur," Jane said knowingly as she entered the walk-in. About a third of Maura's massive collection of apparel was already scattered around. She knew if Maura was already into the lingerie, there was no turning back.

"I'm not upset," Maura said confidently.

"Look at me," she instructed Jane as she also looked at herself in the full mirror. She adjusted a breast whose nipple was peeking over the lace of her bra. "Do I look upset?"

Jane looked at her. She couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Well, no, you look like the sexiest woman I've ever seen, in a very stylish jacket, but … you do this when you're anxious, sweetheart, we both know that. Do you want to talk about anything?" Jane realized her initial appraisal of Maura's body to appease her had turned into a wolfish review of her ample assets. She averted her eyes uncomfortably and rubbed her palms against her pants.

Maura sipped her wine and contemplated Jane. "I don't want to talk, no. I'm sorry. I'm organizing my closet today. You could help if you want," Maura started to smile deviously, "You could drink some wine, and oh-" Maura's face suddenly lit up brighter than Venus, "I could dress you up! We could both dress up, I mean." Maura indicated her jacket and heels, as if the concept needed clarification.

Jane scoffed. "I may drink your wine, madam, but I will neva-" she imitated a Southern accent, "play dress-up again. I hated dress-up as a kid, really, Maura. I'm sorry. I'll watch you though. It actually sounds like fun. Bring on those snow pants, huh?"

* * *

Maura was sitting in the floor trying on sandals. After each pair was fastened, she leaned back on her hands and extended her legs in different positions to see how the sandals looked. Jane watched as she drank her wine, absolutely enraptured, from a few feet away. She knew Maura had probably tried on these sandals in this manner at least fifty times, and actually worn the sandals on perhaps six occasions. Still, it wasn't a bad show.

"How are things with Riley, Maura?" Jane asked casually.

She watched Maura's face in the mirror but Maura's only perceptible reaction to her question was that her chest rose and fell.

"What do you think of these?" She asked as she turned her folded legs toward Jane.

Jane's eyes started at her sandals and worked their way to her knees and eventually her thighs. "I think they look even cuter than last time we did this."

Maura smiled. "Things with Riley are fine. We agreed not to take things past casual dating because we work together. So we just date each other, it's not about Romance."

"What is it about then? Sex?" Jane asked honestly. She and Maura had never talked about Maura's sexuality. Maura had tried explaining a few times, but Jane always cut her off or changed the subject.

Maura swallowed. "Yeah, I guess. To be honest, yes. It's about sex. I can't say that to her though. I guess that's my problem with us. Why can't she be satisfied with sex? Is there something unsatisfying about having sex with me that can be rectified by having more control or access over my life or feelings? That's absurd. And what's suddenly mediocre about sex?"

Jane laughed at Maura's frankness and lucidity. For a woman wearing cashmere sweater over her bikini, she spoke her heart with profound clarity.

Maura got up to change clothes and refill their wine.

"Jane, I don't think you understand how badly I need you to go swimming with me. Please," she pled in an over exaggerated manner.

Jane stood defiantly. "What is so fun about changing my clothes?"

"What is so fun about being a sour puss?"

"A sour puss? What is a sour puss?"

"It's …" Maura thought. She actually didn't know. Her face fell.

Jane groaned. "Fine! I can't have people thinking I'm a 'sour puss'. It would ruin this sunny reputation I've fought so hard to cultivate. You talked me into it. Maura, this is the only time I will agree to this. And you can't ever bring it up again."

Maura beamed at her. Instead of thanking her, she leapt forward and swallowed her in the bosom of an overly affectionate hug.

"Great," Maura said, grinning, "Now, get undressed."

* * *

Maura was propped against the closet wall with Jane's head in her lap. She was carefully braiding Jane's hair. She had changed Jane into a few different outfits, but she was currently dressed in pumps, an apron, and lots of turquoise jewelry that Maura had draped around her ears, neck, and wrists.

"You would have been the sexiest Cherokee Native to ever shake a rain stick." Maura commented dreamily.

Jane smiled, "I think there may be some Cherokee in my family." She looked up at Maura just as dreamily.

"Maura?"

"Yeah?" Maura used her hands to gently turn Jane's head so she could continue braiding her hair. She was raking her fingertips carefully over the nape of Jane's neck and behind Jane's ears to gather her errant curls.

"If you're with Riley for sex, does that mean she's awesome at sex or you just want sex with women now?"

They couldn't see each others eyes with Jane's head pinned in position. Maura was grateful for that.

"I guess the total truth is, Jane, that I used to date women a lot more before I met you. I guess I suppressed that aspect of my life because you're … sort of … rigid. I was worried you wouldn't understand. The main thing was, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. So I just downplayed it, a lot."

"You never said anything about being bisexual."

"I did, you just weren't listening for it. And Riley isn't the only woman I've dated since you and I became friends. I just hid it from you. I'm sorry. You found out about Riley because I couldn't hide it. She lives and works in the same places as you."

"Well, she slept with my brother and partner, why not my best friend, too?" Jane finally said it. Maura knew she would say that eventually. She was actually surprised by how long Jane held out.

"I'm not defending her past actions, Jane. To answer you, yes, of course she's very good in bed. I wouldn't be dating her otherwise, we're not exactly cut from the same cloth."

"You and I aren't cut from the same cloth." Jane added quietly.

Maura reached a hand down to pet Jane's shoulder. Her hand curved comfortingly across Jane's back and caressed Jane's neck before returning to her hair.

"Yes we are, Jane. You know that. 'Whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same'. That's from Wuthering Heights." Maura informed her, still in her earnest, dreamy tone.

Jane drew a careful breath before asking, "So you do prefer sex with women?"

"I didn't say that," Maura countered.

"Do you?" Jane asked her openly.

She sighed. "Yes. I prefer women in every way."

"Wow," Jane exhaled after a long silence. "I never knew that about you. What else don't I know about you, Maura?" She turned her face to look up at Maura.

Maura looked down at her. "I didn't hide it from you, Jane. I thought you didn't want to see it."

"Well, I do. I mean, it's you. I want to know you. I will accept you any way you are, Maura. It's not difficult to imagine you with a woman, it's just difficult to imagine you with anyone who deserves you."

Maura blushed and carefully turned Jane's head to work on her braids again.

"You have disliked everyone I have ever dated, Jane. Even boyfriends from my past. Name one person I've dated who you approved of."

"None of them. That's what worries me. Who will ever be worthy of you, Maura?"

"Who do you imagine me with, Jane?" Maura asked her tentatively.

Jane sighed. "I don't know, it's not like I imagine you with other people a lot."

"Other people?"

"Yeah, like 'other than me'."

"Other than you? Do you imagine …" Maura was very carefully maintaining the remainder of her sobriety for this conversation. "Do you imagine us together?"

"No, not … like that. Just like this. Like we're together right now."

Maura nodded. "Of course."

"Did you mean … do I think of us dating? I'm not bisexual, you know that. If I was, I still wouldn't deserve you. You're way above me, Maura."

"Technically you're above me. You're holding me down, Jane." Maura indicated their current position on the floor with Jane's head in her lap.

"I mean I wouldn't deserve you as a girlfriend if I was a lesbian."

"I don't know, Jane, look at what you're doing right now. I've dressed you up like a Cher/Joan Cleaver mashup and you're not only allowing that, you're placidly laying here while I braid your hair … into a knot. Yeah, I'm terrible at braids."

"What?" Jane leaned up and looked at her hair in the mirror. It was somehow braided into a big sloppy pile on the side of her head. "Wow, well, we definitely now know there's something you're bad at," she deadpanned.

"I like just playing with your hair." Maura confessed through her smile and wine glass.

As Jane unbraided her hair in the mirror she asked Maura, "What is it like?"

Maura thankfully had her back turned, she was changing clothes again.

"An orgasm is an orgasm. Women are just softer."

Images of Maura's breasts in every shirt she owned flashed through Jane's mind. Had she memorized Maura's entire wardrobe? Oh no.

Jane turned around to find Maura wearing a t-shirt and panties.

"Hmm. That's sexy, but sort of low fashion," she said with uncertainty.

Maura giggled. "It's bedtime, Pocahontas. Let's get you out of this finery and back in your Jane clothes, huh?"

* * *

Jane called a Taxi but they told her it would be an hour's wait. An unexpected convention in town had logged all the Taxi services. Maura put on some music and they sat on the couch to wait.

"Jane, thank you so much for spending the day with me. I miss spending time with you, and you made me happier today than I could ever describe. Seeing you fall out of boots while trying to unzip a minidress was possibly the sweetest moment of my life." She looped her arms around Jane, and hugged her happily.

Jane accommodated Maura's arms around her by leaning back so that Maura could press fully against her. She wrapped her arms around Maura's back and pet her back lightly.

"I'm sorry this has to stay our little secret, but Maura … I actually had a lot of fun playing dress-up tonight."

Maura giggled happily and hugged her tighter. "Me too. Everything is fun with you. And with excessive wine."

Jane smiled serenely and nestled her head against Maura's. She looked at the clock. She still had forty-five minutes before her Taxi arrived. In the old days, she would have just slept over. But that was officially weird now that Maura had a girlfriend. If Maura hadn't been dating Riley they would have just gotten in Maura's bed together and snuggled the night away.

* * *

"Maura? Jane? What's … what's going on here?"

Jane stroked Maura's back and arms. She turned her face towards Maura's instinctively. Maura noticed the maneuver and barely avoided it. She sat upright and found she was straddling Jane on her couch.

Somehow they had fallen asleep together. She tried to remember the last thing that happened. They had been cuddling on the couch, listening to music, waiting for Jane's Taxi. But what woke them?

"Maura? Seriously?" Riley asked in a tight tone.

Maura looked up at her, for a moment she seemed to not even recognize her. "Oh, Riley. Hey, baby," she yawned. "What are you doing here so late?"

"It's early, Maura. It's eight o'clock in the morning. Why are you sleeping on your couch with Jane, in a t-shirt and panties? And what happened to Jane's hair?"

Jane chose that moment to wake up.

"Does it look that bad? She didn't mean to mess it up, she just couldn't avoid it because my head was in her lap."

Riley's eyes grew wide. "What?!"

Maura hurried to reach down and shake Jane a little. She felt bad for shaking Jane awake, she would have rather pet her. But it didn't seem appropriate, considering.

"Jane, we fell asleep waiting for your Taxi last night. Riley is here, honey. Do you want to use my shower or should I call you another Taxi?"

Jane finally realized what was happening. She looked at Riley coolly.

"Riley, seriously, we fell asleep. Do you think I'd leave Maura clothed at all if we were having sex?" Riley thought her question oddly worded, but her logic sound.

"I guess not. I just … never seen Maura cuddle anyone. She hates to be cuddled." Her tone was wavering slightly, Jane and Maura both hurried to reassure her.

"She does," Jane hurried to say. "She hates it. But I'm a cuddle maniac. I cuddle everything near me when I sleep. Ask Jo Friday, I've woken up to her squirming away a million times. I'm like a bear trap when I sleep, really." As she spoke she was gathering her stuff.

"Maura, I'm gonna jog home. I could use the run. I'm glad you're feeling better." She shot Maura a look only she would understand. It meant 'Stop me now if you don't want me to leave you alone with her'. Maura nodded at her.

"I'll see you at work, Jane. Thank you again for checking on me and helping me organize my closet yesterday."

Jane laughed. "No problem, Maur. And Riley, seriously, nothing was happening. Maura's my best friend."

"One woman's best friend is another woman's girlfriend, Jane," she warned carefully.

"Gotcha," Jane answered squarely.


	3. Faith

WRITERS NOTE: The stories I write are little odes to Love Stories I personally adore. In this chapter, I incarnate the Ghost of Lesbian Past to give Jane a little talking-to. I could have renamed these two characters, but I thought … I'm honestly already stealing intellectual property, I may as well just fly that Flagg.

So, double disclaimer: I didn't write the one of the greatest lesbian novels ever written, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, and I didn't write or get the brilliant idea to televise Rizzoli & Isles. If you're looking for the weird little smut-peddler who clumsily turned them into her puppets, yeah, that was me.

* * *

Jane had woken with a strange feeling. Her life had been plagued with her mother's superstitious 'feelings' and 'intuitions'. Jane herself generally put very little stock in that sort of thing. A bellyache was a sign of a poor lunch choice, not of impending happenstance. A dream was a series of flashes the sensory had collected during the day, not a warning of future events. A crack in the sidewalk was just a crack, not a curse. And still, Jane had awoken with … a feeling.

All day she hurried from task to task, continually trying to shake the feeling. It hadn't been a bad day, she had been occupied interviewing a Victim's family and associates. It also hadn't been a good day, it never was when you had to rake over the private concerns of a recently deceased person with their closest acquaintances. The only silver lining was that she knew she was meeting Maura at the Dirty Robber that evening.

She knocked at the door of her last interview for the day fifteen minutes early. It was the employer of her Victim. She always ordered her interviews from most to least important, so this interview was basically unessential. She didn't think the murder was related to the Victim's job, she was just being thorough. The door opened and a beautiful woman in her thirties opened the door. She had a million dollar smile that took Jane's breath away.

Jane almost stammered, "Hello, I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli. I have a scheduled interview with a Gene Threadgood."

The woman's smile seemed to radiate like a sunray. Jane found herself thinking the woman reminded her of Maura, but she didn't look like Maura. Her hair was easily as long as her waist and deep chestnut brown. Her eyes were the color of milk chocolate. Perhaps in another life she might have been a Cherokee Princess with Jane.

"Hello, Detective. Please, come inside. Gene actually had to run to the office, something came up."

Jane apologized, "I'm sorry to come early. I didn't realize how ahead of schedule I was. Do you mind if I wait?"

"Not at all," she said as she brought Jane into her home.

She was clearly cooking dinner, a wonderful smell emanated throughout her home. The second she closed the door behind Jane, they heard a baby crying, and the woman asked, "Will you wait for just a second?" as she hurried away.

Soon she returned with her infant in her arms. The baby's face was pink and it stuffed its balled fist into it's mouth unhappily.

"I'm Ruth Threadgood," she said as she extended the most graceful hand Jane had ever clasped. Except for Maura's, Jane thought. "And this is our son, Buddy," she indicated her unhappy cargo.

"Gene should be home any second. I'm sorry I can't wait with you, I need to finish dinner before it burns. And I have to juggle this little man now that he's awake."

"Please," Jane extended her arms, "Let me help with him?"

Ruth beamed at her. "You don't know how much I appreciate this. Thank you, Detective." She handed Jane her disgruntled bundle.

Jane was rocking the baby in her arms and walking around the living room idly. She stopped to look at the sea of smiling faces which was their family photos. Most photos were mostly of Ruth and Buddy. Some had a skinny blonde with an infectious smile in them. Jane wondered why Gene wasn't in any of the pictures.

She tried to picture him in her head, she was just bringing up a Ken doll. Surely the man who married Ruth had to be the most attractive man she would ever see. Buddy whimpered a little and she lifted him to her shoulder and patted his back softly.

Soon she heard the door open. She turned to see the blonde with the infectious smile in the doorway.

"You must be Detective Rizzoli. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting. I'm Immogene Threadgood."

Jane was dumbfounded, but she didn't know why exactly. It wasn't that she hadn't seen a lesbian couple, it wasn't that she hadn't been in the home of a lesbian couple. It was that Ruth was so angelic and their home was so immaculate. It oozed Southern comfort and genuine heartfelt love. Not that a lesbian home couldn't be impressive, just that … Jane lost herself in a sea of circular thoughts.

"No, I was early. I apologize, too." She finally replied.

Ruth came from the kitchen and Gene embraced her lightly and kissed her cheek. "It smells wonderful in here, honey," Jane heard her say quietly against Ruth's neck.

Ruth's eyes lit up at the compliment. She pushed her face into her wife's curls and replied, "Please take your son from this nice Detective before her biceps rupture. Dinner will be ready when you're finished."

Gene grinned, "Yes, ma'am."

As they did their interview, Jane couldn't stop herself from contemplating certain things around their home. Gene noticed Jane staring at a photograph of she and Ruth kissing and finally asked, "Does something about that photo interest you, Detective?"

"What?" Jane asked guiltily.

"You keep looking at our wedding picture there."

"I … I'm sorry, it's the end of my day, I'm just staring off." Jane tried to lie.

Gene smiled at her. She seemed to collect her thoughts carefully before she started, "You were asking if my employee, Vincent, and I ever had any kind of disagreement. We did, once, when he found out about Ruth. He was sort of a … prize jackass … about us being together, as wives. Excuse my Southern language, please."

Jane laughed. Gene was the most charming woman she had ever met. She really oozed charm from every pore of her body. But it was genuine, heartfelt charm whose apparent source was a heart of gold. She and Ruth were the stereotypical Southern belles you read about in books.

"Anyway, I handled him like I generally handle that particular problem: I introduced him to my wife. Now, I can't take any credit for the affect she had on him, that's how almost everyone reacts to her. She's … well, Detective, I don't know how superstitious or spiritual you are, but I'll tell you the honest truth as I believe it … she's an angel."

Jane felt like time were slightly out of joint, as if she were having a sort of spiritual experience right then.

"And anyone who meets her just knows, automatically, there's nothing someone who loved her wouldn't do to be with her. The Good Lord knows I don't deserve her, and try as I might I never will, but I've come to accept, even over my own fatal self hatred, that she loves me. So the only way to do right by her was to marry her and give her a proper life. I know folks think it's wrong before they see it in action, but when they do … when they see how much we really love each other, when they see that no one in their right mind wouldn't love her and do anything to give her what she wants and deserves in this life, well, they almost always accept it."

Jane's eyes were fixed on Gene's. She had the keenest feeling that she was looking deep into her soul.

"So, like I said, Vince came here, he met Ruth and Buddy, and he apologized to me for being a dope. After that he was always a star employee, and he brought Ruth fresh vegetables from his garden. I really am so sorry this has happened to him. He was a good man and a great gardener."

Jane nodded and smiled. She cleared her throat. Suddenly a question rose in her mind, something of momentous importance.

"Gene?"

Idgie smiled at her, "Yes?"

"How did you … get from there to here? How did you go from accepting she loved you to … well, all this? This home, your marriage, your child? You spoke like it was nothing, but … surely it must be difficult, with so much social resistance to this type of lifestyle. I mean, you run a business. Don't you find yourself coming under public scrutiny?"

"Jane, I'll tell you honest. It was easier than a summer breeze. The hard part was letting her love me and letting myself believe I could make her happy. The rest, it all fell into place the second I committed to her. Really. We built this life together, piece by piece, and every day we look out on the life we built with no regrets, with nothing but love and gratitude. And all our family and friends support us whole heartedly, on their own account. It really is an amazing thing. I just had to … have a little faith in love, Detective."

Jane felt like she had just spoken with a very wise sage.

"Thank you. Really. You don't know how much."

"I think I may," Idgie replied knowingly. "Good luck."

Jane blushed. "Good luck with what?"

"Your case, of course," Idgie replied with a grin. "But I know you'll figure it out."

"Thank you, Mrs. Threadgood. I'm sorry for your loss. You were very helpful. Please tell your wife it was a pleasure meeting her."

* * *

Maura was cooking lunch. She was tasting her sauce when a pair of long arms wrapped around her. She leaned her head back and sighed.

"Do you want to taste the sauce?" She asked Riley.

Riley grimaced openly. "No way. I'm not eating that. I'm having a sandwich."

Maura hid her displeasure. Jane disliked most foods as well, but she had the good manners to eat what was cooked for her. "No problem, dear."

Riley sucked on Maura's neck and released her skin with a pop that made Maura's eyes squint unhappily.

They were sitting on the couch after lunch watching TV. Maura never knew how many annoying and ridiculous things were on TV before she dated Riley. Jane's endless sports games were at least mentally stimulating and provided entertainment. Maura thought her brain might atrophy if she were forced to watch another Reality Television program.

Riley's arm came down around Maura's shoulder. She allowed it for perhaps three minutes before shrugging it off her.

"It's hot," she said quietly.

Riley looked over at her with cut eyes.

"Um, Maura, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Okay," Maura said, and took the remote to mute the TV.

"Why did you do that?" Riley asked.

"So we can talk."

"Oh," she looked annoyed and glanced sidelong at the TV while she spoke.

"What's happening between you and Jane, Maura?"

Maura deflected without the slightest outward sign.

"She's my best friend, Riley. Why?"

"Nothing, it just seems like there's more to it."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, I just think … I mean, are you sleeping with her?"

Maura let out a disgusted sigh. "You know I'm not."

"I don't know, Maura, I really don't. You act like you're … in love with her."

Maura felt herself winding up to put on a huge defensive display, but she internally warned herself not to take it too far. After all, Riley was ultimately right.

"She's my best friend, Riley. Are you jealous?" Maura deflected again.

"I'm not jealous of Jane. I'm twice the Detective she is." Riley snapped arrogantly.

That comment made Maura very angry, but she knew it was the voice of Riley's insecurity talking so she held herself back.

"I want to stop talking about this. And I don't want you to bring it up again. Please agree to that." Maura finally said smoothly.

"Whatever, Maura. Jane's locked in the closet anyway. She's never coming out, not even for you."

"Jane's not -" Maura suddenly snapped before she caught herself. "Your concern. Don't bring her up again. I'm serious. Or it will be the last conversation we have."

Riley unmuted the TV before she was finished talking.

* * *

Maura's phone rang. It was 4:45 and she was getting ready to leave her office, excited she and Jane had finally been able to schedule a dinner together after not seeing each other outside work all week. She was supposed to meet Jane at the Dirty Robber at 5.

"Jane? What's up? Are you going to be late for dinner? I can wait for you." Maura admonished herself for general gushiness towards Jane.

"Actually, I'm on time, but I'm exhausted. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm too tired to go to the Dirty Robber with you."

Maura felt her chest physically ache with disappointment.

"That's okay, Jane. Don't worry about it. We can reschedule."

"No, Maura, I don't want to reschedule. I was just hoping we could have dinner at your place. If you don't feel like cooking I can bring some take-out. I'm just too tired for a booth and a waiter. I need to take my boots off and relax."

Maura's smile felt like a flower happily blooming in the noonday sun.

"Of course, Jane. I'm not too tired to cook, I'll make anything you want."

"Make me something healthy with that green stuff I like so much."

Maura bit her lip. "Kale?"

"That's the stuff. Makes me feel like Peter Rabbit when I eat it." She said playfully. "Maura, I think you know by now I trust you to cook for me. Half the time I end up liking it more than hotdogs and fries anyway. I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes?"

Maura actually felt her heart race. She was going to have dinner with Jane in fifteen minutes. How did that still excite her?

"I can't wait," Maura returned warmly.

They were sitting on the couch together after dinner.

"What games are on tonight?" Maura asked curiously.

"Eh. I don't have the energy. I'm okay with picking something off your DVR. I'm sure you recorded a documentary or two this week."

Maura felt her heart growing so big. How was it possible that she was suddenly falling more in love with Jane? She had thought, each time she fell a little more, that she was finally at the bottom. But on this day every word Jane said and every thing Jane did seemed to turn her on and drive her crazy more than she ever had.

"Okay, sure. Pick one." She handed Jane the remote. Jane had finally learned how to access her DVR . "I'm gonna refill my wine and grab you a beer. Do you want a snack?"

"I'm already full from the delicious dinner you made me. Did I say thank you already?"

"You did, while you were washing the dishes," Maura replied.

"Right. Well, you look gorgeous today. Did I say that already?"

Maura blushed. "You did, when you arrived."

"Is that a new dress?"

"It is. Do you like it?"

Jane raked her eyes down Maura's body and Maura instantly regretted asking. Jane's gaze made her nipples visibly hard.

"I love it. You look so elegant in purple. Or I bet you call that 'plum', huh? Or 'Eggplant'?"

"Aubergine," Maura obliged with her back turned.

"Naturally," Jane grinned as she selected a documentary about honey bees.

When Maura returned to the couch, she tried not to sit too close to Jane, but within minutes they seemed to be pressed against each other.

Jane had the bad habit of putting both her beer and her feet on the coffee table, eventually kicking the beer in the floor. Maura had solved this problem by putting a coaster where Jane most frequently put her hand, the table behind the couch where she stretched her arms when she relaxed. Jane adored this coaster especially placed for her needs. Whenever she stretched her arm out, a beer was in her hand. It also happened that each time she reached for her beer, she had to put her arm around Maura.

As the documentary wore on, she found it was easier to leave her arm behind Maura's head on the couch. Maura eventually leaned back against her side, and by the end of the movie Maura's head was laying on her shoulder and Jane was absently rubbing her fingertips on Maura's arm. Because Maura was turned to her side, eventually the hand that wasn't resting on Jane's thigh came to casually pet Jane's side over her shirt. Their touches were light but not innocent, and when the movie ended it left them plainly aware of what they were doing.

"Maura?" Jane asked.

"Mmmhmm?" Maura answered with her head still laying on Jane's shoulder.

"Would Riley be okay with this? If she walked in now, would this be okay?"

Maura frowned and sighed. "Probably not."

"Casey would love it," Jane replied and Maura raised her head in shock.

"Really," Jane continued, "He asks about this a lot. If we sleep together, if I have feelings for you, if I'm interested in bringing you into our bed. He really thinks he would like to see us together."

"So he would be okay with this?" Maura asked her, confused.

"No, no," Jane replied quickly, "He would be okay with us sloppily making out after too many drinks. I don't think he would be okay with us cuddling and petting on the couch like this. He wouldn't be okay if he knew I'm more jealous over you than him."

"That's a funny distinction, but I understand it. Riley wouldn't be okay with us doing anything, she's so jealous of you she's threatened by our mere friendship."

"Is it just a mere friendship, Maura?" Jane asked her.

Maura's eyes widened. Suddenly she realized they needed to hit the breaks or change the subject.

"No, of course not, we're best friends. For life." She smiled at Jane before trying to pull away. Jane held her in place.

"We're cheating, aren't we?" Jane asked her earnestly.

Maura tried again to keep things light. "We're sitting on a couch together, I don't think this qualifies as cheating."

"So your girlfriend and my boyfriend would see it that way?"

Maura sighed. "No, they wouldn't."

"Then we are, right?" Jane asked.

Maura wanted to end the conversation and talk about anything else. "You know, you're probably right. We've had too much to drink, and we're being too affectionate. We're being silly and we should stop. I'll go get us some waters." Again she tried to move and this time Jane held her tightly.

"It doesn't matter if we stop, Maura, it doesn't matter if we stop seeing each other completely. No matter what we do, we'll still be cheating, won't we?"

Maura's face suddenly turned ash and then white. The expression in her eyes looked a thousand years old. It was obvious to Jane then that Maura had come to this realization a very long time before. "Yeah, we will. As long as we love each other, we're cheating on everyone we date."

"Christ," Jane finally released Maura and dropped her head into her hands. Maura began to pet her back comfortingly.

"Jane, don't worry. Please. Everything will be okay. We love each other, maybe a little too much. That's a good problem to have, not a bad one. So we love each other too much, we'll dial it back. We can dial it back, can't we? We'll just stop cuddling. I'll stop petting you so often," but she didn't stop petting her then, "and we can come up with solutions. Together."

Jane looked up at Maura who was doing her best to smile bravely.

"We always do everything together, don't we?" Jane asked her.

"I guess … we do. Should we stop?" Maura asked, for the first time really wondering if Jane would leave her. Fear filled her body and she tried to hold it back.

Jane shook her head slowly. "I trust you more than I ever thought I could trust someone, I can't just dismiss that. I … I need you. What would I do without you, Maura?" She looked at Maura like she had truly never conceptualized their separation before.

Maura felt her eyes line with tears. "I just want whatever is best for you, Jane. I'll do anything as long as I know it makes you happy."

Jane took her hand. "I know that, Maura, of course I know that. So how could I ever put Casey before you? Or anyone before you? You're … you're the most important person in my life, not just a friend or a best friend. Without you I would be totally lost. I can hardly discuss our separation without getting scared."

Maura didn't think it a good idea, but she leaned forward and hugged Jane despite herself. "Jane, don't be scared, we won't be separated."

Jane clasped Maura in her arms. She pulled Maura tighter to her than she had ever pulled anyone. Maura was shocked but let herself be roughly pulled against Jane. She felt Jane kiss her forehead lightly and she closed her eyes tightly to stop her impending tears.

"I love you, Maura. I'm tired of seeing you with other people. I don't know how to transition our friendship into something more and that scares me, but something has to give because … I think I'm falling in love with you."


	4. Melt With You

Quickly: The happy Reviews and PM's mean the world to me. I cannot emphasis this sentiment enough. Your faith in me has, in every way, fostered this story's unlikely success.

NOTE: I apologize for the excess of dialogue in this chapter, but one of the things I was hoping to do in this story was get them to talk out their feelings. I may have gone overboard, as I am want to do.

I was in a rush on the proofreading, I hope the typos don't poke your eyes out.

Also, after writing the most VANILLA story of my life, the smut really kicks in near the end, so be prepared for M content.

* * *

"I love you, Maura. I'm tired of seeing you with other people. I don't know how to transition our friendship into something more and that scares me, but something has to give because … I think I'm falling in love with you."

Maura pulled her head back, but found the urge to kiss Jane was overwhelming so she buried her face in Jane's hair instead.

"Let's just breathe together for a moment and collect ourselves," she didn't know if she had spoken aloud or not.

They breathed in unison until the tension in their bodies seemed manageable again. Maura felt Jane's grip on her loosen, and she slowly pulled away enough to talk to Jane.

"I love you, too, and I agree we should talk about this, but it probably isn't the right time. It's late. We're exhausted. How about," Maura employed a very gentle tone, "you join me in my bed-"

Jane arched an eyebrow and imperceptibly smirked.

Maura's cheeks flushed.

"-_as friends_, and we can have this conversation tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday."

Jane considered it carefully before answering, "Promise me we will."

Maura glanced at Jane's mouth. "I promise, my love."

Jane sighed raggedly. She took the hand Maura extended to her as her reply.

"Only," Maura murmured when Jane put her hand on Maura's back, "Only cuddling tonight, okay?"

Jane let out an exhausted laugh, "Maura, I'm not exactly ripping your skirt off."

Although she was joking, Maura addressed her seriously. "It's me I'm worried about. I don't want to lose control of myself. Let's just sleep on it tonight and discuss it tomorrow, okay?"

Jane yawned, "Okay, beautiful. Take me to bed."

* * *

Maura managed to sleep in Jane's arms without pawing at her all night, a feat she considered more difficult than any she had surmounted. When morning came they went jogging, had breakfast, and were at the park walking Jo Friday when Maura finally said,

"I'm in love with you, too, Jane."

Jane felt herself blush unrepentantly. She looked at Maura, smiling uncontrollably, and asked "Why?"

Maura took her hand. "I really have no idea the underlying reason. It seemed to happen when I met you. I just felt very profound and powerful feelings for you, always. I could say that you're sexy and courageous and funny, but it's really more than that. It's more than a surface level attraction to you. Although of course I'm attracted to _literally_ everything about you."

"Literally everything? Even my gym socks and my sarcasm? Even my morning breath?"

Maura felt goosebumps rise on her arms, "Sadly, yes. I am attracted to all your traits, good and … not so good. It's all Jane to me, all the pieces that make up my loved one."

Jane tightened her grip on Maura's hand. "I would say I feel exactly the same, but you don't really have any bad qualities, Maura."

Maura blushed at the compliment, "Not even my Google mouth?"

Jane grinned and shook her head, "Not even the etymology thing."

"Wow," Maura laughed, "That really annoys you."

"No, it doesn't," Jane confessed. She thought for a second before finishing, "It turns me on, I guess. It aggravates me because it's so attractive and I can't say that."

Maura stopped to look up at her coyly, "I'm flirting with you when I do that."

Jane was genuinely surprised. "Really?"

Maura's tone lowered, "Yeah. Do you ever hear me doing that with anyone else?"

Jane thought about it. Suddenly she realized Maura never joked or played with anyone but her. She wondered why she had never really realized that before. Surely everyone else must have realized it.

They resumed their walk.

"If you've always felt that way, why didn't you tell me, Maura?" Jane asked carefully. That was the big question weighing on her mind and she had been carefully gathering the courage to ask.

Maura looped her arm around Jane's arm and snuggled into her side. She collected her thoughts seriously before replying, "Although I believe I loved you when I met you, possibly even before I met you, I didn't fully realize it then. Initially, I thought I was just attracted to you.. You're the antithesis of everything I find attractive about a person. But we worked together so I didn't act on that attraction, and we became friends so I didn't mention it. But over time I was less and less able deceive myself. Eventually I accepted that I was in love with you, but by then we were best friends."

Jane was struck silent by her confession.

"And you're straight, Jane. You just told me last month that you're not a lesbian. You say that a lot, adamantly. You've never been with a woman or expressed interest in being with a woman. And … if you're straight, you're straight. I can't argue with that." She tried to hide the hurt and the frustration in her tone.

Jane nodded. "That's what I've been thinking, too," she finally said with a sigh.

They walked along in silence again as Jane struggled to turn her thoughts into a lucid explanation.

"I always thought no one is totally straight. I believed that … because I'm not totally straight."

Maura smirked but immediately suppressed it.

Jane continued, "I check women out, I flirt with women, I am always honored when a woman gets a little crush on me. And I do the same with men, but it doesn't … make me feel the same. I don't feel as powerful and … wow, turned on, I guess. I guess it turns me on to flirt with women." She took a minute to be shocked by her own confession. "But I what I feel for you eclipses all that. Definitely."

Maura tried to sound casual asking the question she most wanted to know, "So you're … you're sort of … attracted to me?" She found something super interesting in the trees to stare at.

Jane couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Yeah. You … drive me crazy, Maura. I practically drool over you. You've never noticed that? And the more time we spend together, the less control I have over my desire to … get physical with you."

Maura felt her pulse begin to race. She took a deep breath. "Physical how?"

Jane replied in her gravelly bedroom voice, "You know how."

In unison they stopped walking.

Maura was taking deep breaths, Jane was needlessly tugging on Jo Friday's leash.

Finally the heat seemed to wear off, or at least they were both able to begin walking again.

"What do you want to do?" Maura asked her earnestly.

"I really don't know. What do you think?"

"Whatever is best for both of us. I've had a long time to think about this, and I believe we can still either back off safely or… discuss … being … together … in some capacity," the last words were spoken after great effort.

"You would want that?" Jane asked her carefully.

Maura's eyes sought hers. "Yes," was all she could manage to say.

Jane could only nod over her goofy, ecstatic smile.

* * *

They had lunch at Jane's favorite restaurant and Maura took Jane and Jo Friday back to Jane's apartment.

"Do you want to … have a drink? Watch a movie?" Jane asked. She found herself standing very close to Maura, eyes exploring Maura's cleavage without trying to hide it.

Seeing Jane openly ogle her made Maura instantly wet.

"I can't tonight," she eventually replied with a suppressed frown. "I have something to take care of. I don't know how long it will take. Can I call you after I'm finished? To say goodnight?" Maura asked, taking the hem of Jane's shirt and using it to pull Jane's face towards hers.

Jane stared at Maura's mouth as her face came closer. Their foreheads met and they rested their heads together.

"Of course," Jane replied in her gravelly voice. "What are you doing tonight?"

Maura tried not to smile because it wasn't a happy occasion. "Breaking up with Riley."

* * *

It was after eleven when Maura called. Jane tried to sound casual when she answered.

"Hey, Maur. How was your evening?"

Maura made a 'mmm' sound before saying, "Not fun, but my morning was one of the best of my life, so all in all, it was still a great day."

Jane beamed at her reply, but asked solemnly, "Was she upset?"

"Yeah," Maura replied lightly, "Breakups aren't easy. But she knew it was coming, we both did. It wasn't just because … of us. Riley and I always wanted different things from each other."

Jane paused before asking, "Can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask me everything, my love."

"Why were you dating Riley? You never seemed that interested in her."

"Um," Maura didn't expect Jane to ask that, but she understood why Jane wanted to know. "After I realized my feelings for you, I wasn't sure how to date other people. It started getting difficult because … I just wanted to be with you instead. I would break dates to be with you, and talk about you the entire time I was with someone. After a succession of failed attempts, I realized my life would never have room for that and you. So for a while I didn't date. But then I got … well, horny. Humans need physical comfort and intimacy. I don't think my behavior is exactly wanton, but … I do need sex, Jane."

Jane shifted her hips at the thought of Maura's sexual appetite. She expected Maura to say more but she didn't so eventually she asked, "So you were with Riley for sex?"

"It sounds pretty lewd aloud, but yeah, I thought that's what we both wanted. Just some fun, some sex, some light hearted friendship. But then she …"

"Wanted more? Maura, who wouldn't want more of you?"

Maura laughed off the compliment. "Honestly I think her competitiveness with you is what fueled her desire to … be possessive of me. I don't think she would have been as interested in me if she didn't subconsciously realize you are."

Jane laughed ironically. "I was jealous of her, too."

"Jane, that's absurd. Riley … she's not a bad person. You're an intimidating competitor,, and she mistakenly got a bad start with you. She wants to prove herself to you. But she could never please me or interest me or turn me on the way you do."

"Do I?" Jane asked, her tone conveying the fact that she was still thinking about Maura's sexual appetite.

Maura giggled sweetly. "You do," was all she conceded.

"What did you do with your evening?" Maura asked her after a pause.

"Oh," Jane said, remembering, "I was going to tell you. I … talked to Casey."

Maura waited with her breath held.

"He said … to tell you congratulations."

"About what?" Maura asked, breath still held.

"I told him how I feel about you. He wasn't surprised. He didn't get upset, he just said he was expecting it to happen. I feel sort of guilty about it, Maura, but it wasn't that difficult. He was really sweet about it."

Maura finally exhaled. "I'm so … that's so … wow, I … "

"Maura? Are you okay?"

Maura was crying and she shakily replied, "I didn't expect that."

Jane cooed into the phone to her. "Hey, Maura, listen to me, baby, calm down. Hey, I'm here."

Maura drew a long, ragged breath. "I love you so much, Jane."

Jane felt like a weight she never knew was crushing her had suddenly been lifted.

"I love you, too, Maura. I'm so excited to … to kiss and to hold you. I wish you were here."

Maura was looking out her window at the stars and she suddenly felt a wave of gratitude sink deep into her soul. She never believed this would happen, or maybe she always believed it would happen.

"I am," she murmured dreamily. "I'm always with you, in your heart, wherever you're at. Can't you feel me there?"

Jane slipped her hand over her heart. "Yeah, I can."

Maura smiled. "We should probably take things slow, but … will you be at dinner tomorrow night?"

On Sunday Angela always cooked a big dinner for Maura, Jane and her brothers.

"Of course," Jane replied.

"Okay, my love. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I can't wait," Jane replied. And it was true. Somehow after all the years they had been best friends, she still couldn't wait to see Maura next. "I love you."

They always said it at the end of a phone call, but it held new meaning. "I love you, too, Jane. I'm so lucky to have you."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Jane returned in her low croon.

* * *

Sunday Dinner came, but it wouldn't go. Angela insisted on staying to clean the kitchen although Jane and Maura told her they didn't mind. Frankie and Tommy stayed until the last touchdown. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Jane finally told them she needed some time with Maura. Her brothers grinned like jackals, but finally left. Angela asked, "You two spend all day together, what more can you have to do?"

Jane was practically pushing her out of the door. "Love you, Ma. We'll talk soon."

When she turned Maura was laughing.

They looked at each other. They hadn't touched all evening except to briefly hold hands under the dinner table.

Jane walked up and took Maura's hands in hers. She kissed Maura's fingers, and Maura looked on entranced. Jane kissed her wrists, then her forearms. Then she pulled Maura's arms around her own waist. Her lips hovered over Maura's, and they looked into each other's eyes.

"May I kiss you, Maura Isles?" She asked gently.

Maura's chest rose and she nodded happily, so Jane kissed her.

Jane kissed her lips and reveled in the way it felt to brush her face against Maura's. The instant her tongue darted past Maura's lips, Maura sucked it into her mouth. Jane gasped and tightened her grip on Maura's hips.

Finally they had to breathe. Maura rested her head on Jane's shoulder.

"I thought I would turn on a little music while we cleaned the kitchen, but your mother left no spot unscrubbed. It feels strange just … taking you to my bedroom. We usually pretend to be interested in the TV."

Jane laughed. "Maura, I think five years is enough foreplay."

She giggled happily and purred against Jane's neck, "Lead the way then, Detective."

"Can I … I want to … try something," Jane said sort of aloof.

Maura raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

Jane leaned down and before Maura understood what she was doing, she told her, "Jump" and she had lifted Maura into her arms.

Maura gasped. She tightened her arms around Jane's neck.

"I won't drop you," Jane whispered against her.

"I'm more worried I'll gush on you before we get to the bedroom."

"… What?" Jane asked and Maura blushed feverishly.

Jane sat Maura down on her bed. She didn't release Jane's neck, instead she pulled Jane down on top of her. They both moaned at the contact. Jane settled carefully against Maura's body, propped with her forearms on each side of Maura's head. Maura pulled Jane's shirt out of her jeans and slid her hands against Jane's lower back. As they kissed she spread her hips more and more until her legs were wrapped around Jane's waist.

Jane leaned back on her left arm and unbuttoned Maura's top. She pushed it apart and stroked Maura's tight stomach with her knuckles.

She groaned against Maura's sucking mouth.

Maura's hand pulled Jane's face closer, she had been waiting for so long to feel Jane above her.

Jane was pleased to find that Maura's bra unclasped in the front, but she was not quite prepared for what she saw when she opened it.

"Oh wow," she said with wonder. Maura stopped to look down. Jane was staring at her breasts like she had seen the face of Christ. She smiled as she watched Jane, wondering what Jane would do.

Jane licked her lips repeatedly but nothing seemed to wet them. She looked at Maura's nipples longingly until Maura took her idle hand and placed it on her right breast. Jane's sharp intake of breath was her only response.

Carefully she pet, then grasped, Maura's voluptuous breast. Her mouth was still hanging open, her breath coming out so hard it made her lips dry and she licked at them like a hungry wolf. She wanted so badly to suck Maura's nipple but she just couldn't move herself to do it.

Finally Maura's hand snaked around her shoulders to her neck. Jane heard her say, "It's okay, Jane," as she tenderly pushed Jane's head in the direction it obviously wanted to do.

She pulled Maura's nipple into her mouth carefully. The sharp whimper it elicited from Maura made her eyes dart up, but Maura smiled and continued her reassuring pressure on Jane's neck. Eventually Jane relaxed into her endeavor and sucked unabashedly at each of Maura's excited nipples. She was hungry yet when Maura finally pulled her back to her waiting lips.

"Maura, that was," Maura's tongue dived again into her mouth and she groaned, "My God, you're so," Maura sucked on her bottom lip, "Mmmm. Amazing," she finally finished.

"How do you feel about," Maura began in a breathy tone, "taking some clothes off?"

Jane hesitated, but leaned up slowly. She rubbed Maura's stomach sweetly before standing beside the bed. She looked into Maura's eyes as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"Where should I-?" She started and Maura quickly replied, "I don't care." So she tossed it on the floor. Her bra was next, then she pushed her jeans and panties to the floor.

Maura wasn't aware she was trembling until Jane returned to lay over her.

"What about you?" she whispered into Maura's ear.

Maura suddenly wondered if she even had the faculties to remove her own clothes. How does this skirt unfasten? She asked herself dimly before Jane's long fingers found the zipper on the side and slid it down.

"Sit up," she ordered quietly and Maura obliged her. She pulled Maura's shirt and bra down off her shoulders and laid them carefully in the floor beside the bed.

"Back down," Jane ordered again and Maura moved instantly. "Raise your hips."

Maura raised her hips and Jane slid her skirt down her legs.

They were both breathing heavily.

Jane flattened her palms over Maura's calves and rubbed up the length of Maura's legs. When she reached Maura's thighs, she heard Maura croon a little in her chest. She lifted her hips involuntarily. Jane rubbed her palms over Maura's thighs, exploring the inside and out, and finally pushing Maura's knees apart with her own.

She resumed her position above Maura, and they moaned simultaneously at the feeling of their bare breasts pressing together.

"Jane, that's so good," Maura pouted before lifting her hand to caress Jane's breasts. She pulled gently at Jane's nipples, which made Jane arch her hips against Maura's. Once, twice, it started to feel like a rhythm.

"Maura?" Jane asked.

She looked up at her, "Yeah, Jane?"

"What … what do you like? What should I … do?" Jane asked with her eyes averted. Her voice didn't convey insecurity, but something similar perhaps.

Maura took her face in her hands and kissed her fully.

"I want you to do whatever you want to do to me."

"But I want to please you."

"It pleases me to know what you want to do to me," she tried to explain through jagged breaths.

"Oh," Jane said quietly.

Maura realized she needed some encouragement. "I like …. To be kissed between my legs. I really like to be penetrated. I like having my butt rubbed." She was grateful Jane couldn't see how hard she was blushing in the dim light. "I like it when you're on top. I like … fingers," was the only word left in her impressive vocabulary. "Fingers."

Jane couldn't stop herself from grinning. Maura had started slowly rocking against her during her little speech. Jane reached down to stroke Maura over her panties. Maura gasped loudly.

"You're …" Jane started but stopped. She licked her lips. "Is it okay if I … ?"

Maura answered her with a palm on her shoulder, which urged her toward her goal.

She scooted between Maura's legs and gulped hard before pulling her panties off. It felt like the longest part of her day. Somehow pulling Maura's panties down her relatively short legs took an incredibly long time. She sat between Maura's legs and breathed deeply as she laid one hand on Maura.

Her thumb pushed Maura apart slowly, and elicited a hiss from Maura when it brushed her clit. She ran her thumb downward. She used the tips of two more fingers, stroking, coating herself in Maura's liquid. Her face seemed to be slowly leaning down, as if in a trance, as if Maura's vagina had some kind of magnetic pull that was reeling her in.

Maura had already closed her eyes when Jane's lips met her center. She lifted her hips unconsciously towards Jane's open mouth and exploring tongue.

Jane used the tip of her tongue to carefully explore Maura, until she felt Maura's fingers lace in her hair. One glance at her lover told her Maura couldn't take much more. She took a deep breathe before applying the flat of her tongue liberally over Maura's opening. Her thumb once again brushed Maura's clit softly.

It took all the resistance Maura possessed to keep from bucking against Jane's face. She wanted to let Jane do her own thing without edifying or instructing her. She wanted Jane to be in control. She wanted Jane to decide. However, she was so close.

"Fingers," she whined quietly.

"Mmmm?" Jane asked without looking up. Her face was now completely descended between Maura's legs and she held Maura's thighs in order to control the soft rythems her sucking caused.

"Fingers," she squeaked helplessly.

Jane heard her that time. She put her two middle fingers in her mouth before posing them at Maura's entrance. For some reason she was most scared to enter Maura. Would she hurt her? Would she lose control? Would she be able to please her?

Maura's hips lifted, her hand pulled just a little at Jane's hair. Jane took a breath and slid both fingers inside Maura's throbbing core. Maura nearly screamed, "Oh, Jane!"

Jane scrambled towards her, finding a position above her without removing her fingers. She grazed Maura's clit with her thumb and Maura buried her face in Jane's neck.

Maura whispered, "I love you," before pulling Jane's ear into her mouth. She sucked the lobe roughly before sliding her entire tongue inside Jane's ear. It felt strange at first, then it felt amazing.

"I love, I love," Jane stammered and Maura whispered "Fingers" in her ear again.

Jane slowly started to work her fingers in and out of Maura, acclimating to the pace Maura set with her hips. It wasn't long before Maura was whimpering in her ear.

"Oh, Jane."

"Don't stop."

"That's perrrrfect."

"Yes, yes, yes," her entire body arched and she climaxed with an intense yelp. "Jane!"

Jane was still rocking her own hips gently against Maura's thigh when she opened her eyes and swallowed.

"Let me-" Maura started but Jane cut her off quickly, "It's okay, just relax."

Maura looked up at her carefully. She kissed her gently.

"What do … you want, Jane?"

Jane stuttered nervously, "I'm fine, baby, I'm just here for you."

Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's shoulders and lifted her legs around Jane's hips. She drew in a long breath before saying, "I can wait if you want to wait. I can accept it if you don't want me to touch you. But please, open up to me. Don't shut me out. Don't shut down, my love."

Jane leaned back and looked at her. There was so much trust in Maura's eyes. She finally smiled and said, "I liked … sucking your breasts."

Maura beamed at her happily, "And?"

"Well, I liked everything. You taste … so good."

Maura purred against her ear while running her fingers through Jane's hair gently.

"What about you, Jane? What do you want me to do? I want to please you. I'm excited to. But I can wait if you need that."

Jane kissed her to buy a little time. Finally she drew back. She stared at Maura's mouth intently.

"Can it … be anything?" She asked tentatively.

"Of course," Maura grinned in preparation.

"I want you to … do what I did."

"I can do that, baby," Maura purred against her face.

"But I want you to … will you … straddle my face?"

Maura felt her body shiver so hard Jane must have felt it, too. Her nipples grew painfully hard under Jane's caress.

"Yeah. Yes. I can, sure," she tried to sound as calm as possible, but knowing how Jane wanted her made her crazy.

She kissed Jane deeply before pushing back on her shoulders. Jane let Maura roll them over. At first Maura enjoyed her opportunity to rub her body against Jane's. She rubber her legs briefly against Jane's and kissed her cheek. Then she sat up, blushed from her navel to her cheeks, and slowly crawled to a comfortable position over Jane's face.

She looked down at Jane, who was wide eyed.

"Don't forget to breathe," she warned Jane carefully.

It did seem like good advice. Jane felt like she was going deepwater diving.

Maura leaned down on her elbows and briefly rubbed her lips back and froth over Jane's swollen lips. She licked Jane softly, with increasing pressure. She suckled at Jane intently, expertly pulling Jane's clit into her mouth and circling it with her tongue repeatedly.

Jane's hands were rubbing her butt and squeezing it appreciatively.

Soon she fell to her task completely, and jerked when she felt Jane's tongue enter her.

The next few minutes were an orchestra of panting, gasping, groaning, whimpering, and finally, blissful yelps.

* * *

Maura lay above Jane, she was petting Jane's stomach.

"You … I … we … " Maura started drowsily.

Jane giggled. "I know, right?"

Maura giggled back at her. "That was … so …"

"Yeah, the bed is soaked," Jane said exhaustedly into her hair.

"Sorry," Maura replied guiltily into her shoulder.

"Don't apologize for that, Maur. That's … nothing to apologize about."

Maura sighed. "What will happen now?"

Jane looked down at her. "What do you mean?"

"What will happen," Maura looked down at her mouth, "between us?"

Jane snuggled her closer. "Well, if tonight is any indicator, a lot more sex."

Maura laughed.

"And … I don't know. I was sort of thinking about marrying you, maybe making you happier than you ever thought possible?"

Maura only looked at her.

Finally Jane asked, "How does … that sound to you?"

Maura just leaned forward to kiss her deeply.

"It sounds … like the happy ending I always hoped we would have together."

Jane kissed her head.

"Well, happy ending, baby. Goodnight."

Maura snuggled into her side and yawned. "Happy ending to you, too, Jane. Goodnight."

THE HAPPY END

(Thanks for reading!)


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